Inspiring Leaders Series: Gary Kuyper

Gary Kuyper kicked off this year’s Inspiring Leaders Series last Thursday. This series, which takes place once a month during Kuyper’s Ora et Labora, is designed to talk about business, leadership, and faith. It is put on by the Business Leadership program at Kuyper.

Gary Kuyper is an adjunct business professor from Cornerstone University and Technical Support Manager for AvaSure, a medical supply company. When the Inspiring Leaders series began five years ago, Gary was the first speaker the College hosted. Now, he is the first speaker to return for a second time.

Former CIO of Bethany Christian Services and long-time friend of Business Leadership professor Marc Andreas, Gary spoke about the power of prayer in his life. He mentioned the vital role of prayer in all areas of life, discussing times that he has seen God work directly to answer a specific prayer, like how He worked to make it possible for Gary and his wife to adopt internationally.

Gary also talked about the importance of being open to change. To illustrate this, he brought along an 8x8in. floppy disc that held 80k of data. When he first started working in technology, he thought “I’ll never fill these. Why would I ever want to store more than that?” A single photograph taken today would fill 50 of those floppy discs. As a leader and businessperson, he pointed out, one must always be ready for change.

Gary encouraged the audience to build solid relationships and learn to serve. He describes himself as a “servant leader saved by grace.” He told students to seek out someone to mentor them, and to seek out someone to mentor.

Gary Kuyper closed his talk by a quote from a different Kuyper: “Whatever man may stand, whatever he may do, to whatever he may apply his hand…he is…constantly standing before the face of God. He is employed in the service of his God. He has strictly to obey his God. And above all, he has to aim at the glory of his God.” – Abraham Kuyper.